Salary seems low in SG, for grads. Could be because we are not locals?

Was offered a position. A ringgit salary would be almost the same or 10%-15% higher. An Aussie salary is almost 70% higher.

Same industry, different specialty. Similar company types. Among the specialties, the one in SG is supposed to pay the highest (industry norm).

I'm well aware you can't compare figures directly, even after tax what the Australian graduate can get is ridiculously higher than any of the grads in neighbouring countries (with a few exceptions). Just that I had been expecting a bit more from the SG side (to maybe be on par with what a Malaysian in KL would get).

This is so true.

if you exclude the really ridiculous O&G, IB/finance, and mining pay that may sometimes reach 80k to 100k for a graduate (including their super and pre tax), a grad is only gonna pay around 15% to 20% tax.

so after tax it is still a lot. in terms of savings they may depend on your lifestyle (living further away etc) but since everyone here is talking about conversion, it is very possible to live comfortably in Australia without spending all your money and when you turn the rest into ringgit it is huge. before ringgit it's also very substantial

my figures will be anedoctal since I got less than 5 offers between the two

Australia bonuses won't be big for new employees, given that the base is quite high. single digit unless ur in the big money firm (in that case, you might work hard and get a 50%, 100% bonus in a good year, and your $100k salary is just the start). maybe O&G and mining too. their starting pay for office based jobs (of course you need to get out sometimes too in those jobs) is really high.

ratio is about 25% to 65% more in Australia. yes I realise the first figure is a bit low (it's much lower than average in big cities I can say that much). these are before tax (15-20%) but net of their epf. SG no epf of course.

but look at the higher figure and that is more indicative of the market average. i don't think mine is very high at all, people can easily get higher (90% won't be unusual).

in terms of costs in nominal amounts I don't think Australia is that much different. and for the same amount you will live much better in Australia (i.e. spend AUD 400 on rent vs spend SGD 400 on rent) even though property is expensive, because there is higher supply

actually at that level of pay the tax is only 20%-23%. Slightly higher than people with much lower income (15%-18%).

but if you say 200k pay then it will be more...

I'm well aware the taxes are tiered - i was looking at effective tax rates

yes of course at the higher level if the marginal tax rate is 47.5% then it's not fun - not all of us make that kind of money though

at the low level I believe Australia is still significantly more attractive

at the mid level it really depends, I think. if you start in Australia and you have a high base, then average growth would be fine. if you start in Singapore and have a low base, then even slightly above average growth is not going to do much for ya.

100k package in Australia, you haven't hit 25% tax (excluding these levies). how fast are you gonna grow to 100k in Singapore? After tax Australia is still gonna be comfortable for you to spend a lot, save a lot. SG is not cheap.

as mentioned 100k is a bit extreme. only the best and limited to those industries.

surveys are just that, surveys

oh wow so we should all kiss your sweet behind then. what a fun person you must be to hang out with, with all that bank. money talks eh

i've never criticised anyone who chose to work in singapore. not once did i imply it was a poor decision. it's now possible to work anywhere, whether it's malaysia, hong kong, singapore, china, or australia. there are pros and cons to each of these places. if I have an inaccurate picture of reality, then maybe that can be changed. but not through feeding the egos of people like yourself.

i don't have to want to believe i made the right choice. there isn't a second of doubt about it. clearly there are advantages and disadvantages of working in different countries. i've seen really high starting salaries in singapore, and was making the point that I felt it's easier to get a much higher level of pay in Australia.

maybe the context was lost? looking at young professionals and graduates I don't expect many to get 120k pa in the first couple years of working... I think a starting of 60k pa is already considered very high

of course, "retire in Malaysia" is already a given if you want to maximise your savings and spending power... whether you want to work in America, Australia, UAE or Singapore

yes SG has a big banking, finance, and investment management industry so it may have a disproportionate number of high income professionals compared to the Malaysian workforce, but this discussion is only relevant if we talk about finance professionals

SG is an advanced economy so those professionals would be paid quite a lot, you're right

but Malaysia has much more resources and I'm assuming more of these professionals, who are also paid quite well